perversely do the very reverse. These vices—envy, pride, slander, and obstinacy—belong to the perverse. Relinquish them, acting as trees do when they drop their leaves in autumn.'
The Guru was asked why the words Sat Nam—the True Name—were always written as an introduction to his hymns. He replied, 'The Name is the God of all gods. Some propitiate Durga,[1] some Shiv, some Ganesh,[2] and some other gods; but the Guru's Sikhs worship the True Name and thus remove all obstacles to salvation. Accordingly, the prefatory words, the True Name, are written in all compositions.'
It was here the Guru composed his poem on the Twelve Months of the year. The description is of course suited to the climate of the Panjab, his native country. We here give a translation in extenso[3]:—
Hear Thou, O God—according to men s acts in previous states of existence
The weal or woe which Thougivest to each individual is just.
O God, the Creation is Thine; what is my condition? I cannot live for a moment without Thee.
I am miserable without my Beloved; I have no friend; yet from the Guru's instruction I drink nectar.
The Formless One continueth His creation;[4] to obey God is the best of human acts.
- ↑ Durga is the energy or consort of Shiv.
- ↑ Ganesh is an elephant-headed god of the Hindus, who in one of his attributes presides over literature, and is specially invoked in the prefaces to literary works.
- ↑ The Indian seasons and months are—1, Spring, which includes the months Chet and Baisākh; 2, the hot weather, Jeth and Hār; 3, the rainy weather, Sāwan and Bhādon; 4, the temperate weather, Assu and Kārtik; 5, the cold weather, Maghar and Poh; 6, Autumn, Māgh and Phagan. These seasons are in Sanskrit and Hindi called respectively—Basant, Grīkham, Pāwas, Sard, Him, and Sisar. The latter season, when the leaves fall, is contemporaneous with the European early spring. The Indian lunar year begins with Chet, which is movable, and the Indian solar year with Baisakh about the 12th of April.
- ↑ In Indian sacred writings several creations and destructions of the world are alluded to.
